A Derry man is on a mission to fulfill a promise he made to his father before he passed away.
Tony Harkin's dad Jeff died in 2020 aged 50 after he contracted E. coli and was later admitted to hospital where he later passed away from sepsis.
Speaking to MyDerry , Tony, 24, explained how his dad, a former joiner who helped to build Disneyland Paris in the 1990s, suffered from addiction 'for many years' and was 'fond of a drink'.
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"He was a very good joiner and he was really accomplished in that job but he gave it up around 15 years ago after my mum and him got a divorce and things began to spiral more from there really.
"He got E. Coli from food that he was eating and then he contracted sepsis and that's what actually killed him. It wasn't the alcoholism that killed him but there's no doubt that if he didn't have the addiction that he did have then he would've stood a better chance at surviving.
"He wouldn't have gone a day without taking a drink and it was painful to watch. In my teenage years, I wouldn't have seen him all of the time and I wouldn't have had the best relationship with him, but when I got a bit older and was able to make the decision to go up and see him I did and he was still just my dad. He was a good man that had a problem with alcohol."
Tony, who is doing a 75-day challenge for Derry-based charity HURT in memory of his dad, said that the culture of alcohol and drugs in Derry is "frightening" and that young people were doing it "just for the sake of it".
The challenge involves Tony eating a healthy diet, completing two 45-minute workouts a day, drinking a gallon of water, reading 10 pages of a non-fiction book, taking progress pictures, staying off social media, and taking cold showers.
"It's crazy, it really annoys me when I see people taking alcohol and drugs for no other reason other than taking it because they're bored or because it's on offer.
"I would say that a large proportion of Derry people, especially young people, have tried some kind of drugs when they're out and I think it's getting out of control."
He added: "There are no services in the town for people to get themselves checked in and get the help that they need and the problem is only getting worse.
"That's why I decided that I would do this challenge. I wanted a lifestyle change and I wanted to show people that they don't have to follow the status quo just because they think it makes them look cool or they feel some kind of peer pressure.
"If this helps one person then that is the reason I am doing it, I made a promise to help others suffering the same way my dad did. I don't want to see people wasting their lives because of alcohol or drugs.
"HURT is a great local charity that helps tackle this issue, and has been doing so for 21 years now and that's why I selected it as my charity."
If you would like to donate to Tony's fundraiser then you can do so by clicking HERE.
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